Beregost
Description: '''As you approach through the snow, you can see roofs of Beregost in the distance. '''Military: '''200 laymen militia '''Landmarks: The Song of the Morning Characters: ' *'Most Radiant of Lathander Kelddath Ormlyr Prices and Services: * 20 gp - Initial Donation for guesthouse stay and food * Temple fare is simple but good, and baths and stabling are available. * Free - Extended stay Description: '''This large temple to Lathander consists of a fortified church surrounded by stables, refectories, guesthouses, and outbuildings. It rises up right beside the east side of the road in the center of town, and its distinctive rose-red spires can be seen for miles. The servants of the Morninglord also tend temple fields of potatoes and herb flowers east of the road, and keep sheep on the slopes of the hill topped by the ruined school of wizardry. '''Lore: * The real reason that the sheep are kept here is that the servants of the Morninglord want to keep some control over expeditions into the ruins and to prevent uncontrolled expansion of Beregost. * (Over the years, various Amnian merchants have shown a distressing tendency to lay claim to all land within easy reach of the Coast Way that’s not strongly defended.) * The folk of the temple are vigilant, and stand for no lawlessness or aggression, but are otherwise helpful to strangers.. High Hedge Characters: ' * '''Thalantyr the Conjurer - Thalantyr is a courtly man who can sometimes be seen walking about the countryside, his long, black staff in hand. He’s had no apprentices for years and doesn’t welcome visitors. Locals say he’s interested in far-off places and things, and is sometimes absent for long periods. ' '''Description: A dark, turreted stone house 28 overgrown with pines and that he has his own fishpond behind it. Sometimes he sits next to the pond and talks with something that stays just under the surface of the water. Lore: * It is guarded by a fiercely loyal mated pair of griffons and by some sort of invisible servant creature that has been known to spy and deliver things for its master right into town. ' '''Thunderhammer Smithy ' '''Characters: * Taerom Thunderhammer Fuiruim - A burly giant. His chestnut hair and mutton-chop whiskers are now shot through with gray and white, but his huge hands remain strong and deft. He is a master armorer, and his warmongery equals the best in Faerûn. On several occasions he’s made items for Thalantyr to enspell, and even dwarf smiths admire his work. Taerom keeps over a dozen apprentices busy with all the orders that come his way (mainly from Amn). He fights with a huge iron staff and has been known to slay orcs with a single blow, but is generally a quiet man. He is not given to leadership, but is respected in town more than anyone else. ''' '''Prices and Services: * Custom Weapon/Armor making - Value of Weapon + 200 Description: An industrial building, with stacks that belch coal-smoke into the air, the interior is a furnace in which twelves scrambling apprentices rush about under the watch of amassive manf, banging out a breastplate. The Burning Wizard ''' '''Characters: * Brightness Everness - A layman of Lathander who runs the tavern, he is a short, plump man. He is an old friend of Winthrop. * Garrick - A bard with a chiseled jaw and a smoothshaved face, his voice is a light tenor and his brown eyes exude warmth. Services: * Traveling minstrels are always welcomed, stay for free, and are paid 5 gp per night atop that. * Rooms are 4 to 6 gp per night, varying by size and location. * Wine starts at 6 cp per tallglass and rises to 9 cp a glass for the best vintages. ''' * '''Sherries, zzar, and brandies are all 1 sp per tallglass. Description: A blue roofed brick building, there are no signs to nominate as an Lore: * Acolytes of Lathander are trained to keep lively conversations and entertainments going here, and even to gamble. (Any takings are donated to the temple, of course.) ' * '''No food is sold at the Wizard, but all three local inns keep runners here to go and fetch hot covered platters from the kitchens of their establishments. ' * '''This is a good little place, with several small rooms to stay in adorned with donated bric-abrac from loyal regulars. It’s a delight to find enough cushions in a room to let one sit up in bed in comfort! The Red Sheaf ''' '''Characters: * Innkeep Alard - A thin, wiry halfling innkeep with a fast-mouth and a twitchy demeanor. He is a harsh boss. ' '''Prices: ' * '''Cheese 5cp * Grapes 4cp * Bread 2 cp * Beef roasts 7cp (Blackened or raw) * The cold potato soup 3cp (Well seasoned with celery) * Firewine Blood Wine ' * '''Golden Sands Brews ' * '''Iriaeborn North Brew Ale Description: A Red Sheaf of wheat is emblazoned on this inn’s sign. The building is squat with a front porch. Lore: * Folk come to the Sheaf for fast service. * If the weather is cold or wet, you’ll find yourself in a warm house robe before a crackling fire just as quickly, with your wet things taken to the warming room behind the kitchen chimneys to dry on warmed stone shelves. The Jovial Juggler ''' '''Characters: Prices: * Saerloonian Topaz Wine * Luiren's Best Ale * Suz-ale * Westgate Ruby Wine Description: This inn is on the northern edge of town, on the west side of the road. Its huge roofboard depicting a laughing carnival juggler in jesterlike garb identifies it instantly from afar. It’s very much an average roadhouse. Lore: * Young Beregostans love it. It’s their dancing and drinking club. It outpays Feldepost’s for minstrels and other entertainers, and there’s scarcely a night at the Juggler without some sort of loud revelry, complete with several oxen, hogs, and boars roasted whole. Thankfully, all of that’s confined to one wing, so patrons do get some sleep! History and Info Tired travelers on the Coast Way between Baldur’s Gate and Amn often stop in Beregost. Beregost is located just off the road about a day’s travel on horseback south of where the Way of the Lion that leads to Candlekeep branches off from the Coast Way. It’s within reach of the northern borders of Amn. Merchants of that land often use it as a rendezvous for caravan assembly before attempting the perilous overland runs north to Waterdeep or east to the Sea of Fallen Stars. As a result, this small town gets very crowded at unpredictable intervals. Begun as a farming village under the protection of a school of wizardry, Beregost is now dominated by the Song of the Morning, a major temple to Lathander. Beregost has only one tavern. It is called the Burning Wizard, of course. It has no signboard, but the traveler can easily find it. It’s the building with the crowded hitching rail that stands just north of where the small rivulet known as Wizards’ Doom Creek which rises on the hill where the ruins stand against the skycrosses the Coast Way. That’s where I heard of the two chief dangers to the curious and to young magelings hoping to gain spells or items who approach the ruins too closely. There’s a wizshade who hurls random spells at folk, sometimes appearing as a thin, wraithlike, impossibly tall, bearded man and sometimes just as a battered wizard’s hat. There’s also another wizard wraith, a haunt, who tries to lure folk into the depths of the ruin’s cellars and possess their bodies. Old villagers also speak of magical traps deep in the ruins and at least one gate that leads to unknown destinations. This last claim has been confirmed as truth by no less a pair of magical personages than the Lord Mage of Waterdeep, Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun, and Elminster of Shadowdale. Beregost’s governor strongly disapproves of explorations of the ruins. Although there is a five-person town council, the governor’s word is law in Beregost, and he is a tireless proponent of farming, starting up new businesses, and improving the place. He is also Most Radiant of Lathander (high priest of the temple) Kelddath Ormlyr, and his temple troops police the town, keeping it safe so that trading, meetings, and spending at the shops are brisk. In this, he has two powerful allies: the wizard Thalantyr, a conjurer of great repute who unfortunately wasn’t at home when I visited, 27 and the smith Taerom Thunderhammer Fuiruim. Kelddath has also successfully encouraged several important Amnian merchants to establish estates around Beregost notably the Craumerdaun family, whose fine horses (now bred here) are highly prized in Amn and Tethyr. The visitor today will find the following local features of note.